Built-up column and method of making the same



G. H. DEAN, 2,607,597

BUILT-UP COLUMN AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Judy 9, 193.

Filed NOV. 16, 1955 GEORGE H. DEAN INM/Wolf. r/A b AJTOH/VEX v Patented July 9, 1935 MAKING THE SAME George H. Dean, Norwood, R. I. Application November 16, 1933, Serial'No. 698,276

rf y 5 Claims.

'I'Ihisv invention relatestoimprovements in builtup columns and methods. of making the same.

Columns ma'deb-yv lling metal casings with concrete have been used for years as structural supports. It has also been customary to attach vertical supporting plates' of one: form or another toV these casings to h'elp support top plates, beams or girde'rs, especially where aload may be imposed somewhat eccentrically upon the column. The present practice is' to cut away a part of the casing to form a slot therethrough into which the aforesaid vertical supporting plates can be inserted'. This slotting of the casing is generally recognized as of weakening effect in 4,that it actually removes a part ofthe metal. And where the slots are formed at the very end of the casing not only isv the end weakened by the aforesaid removal of the metal but the remaining separated portions of the column are quite likely to spread apart under thev continued stress of the load.l To prevent this, various devices have been provided to encircle the split or slotted ends and thereby prevent the spreading of thev sections. Another expedient adopted for the same purpose, as disclosed in the Lally Patentvl,539,580 oi May 28, 1925 andin the Peterson Patent 1,604,931 of October 26, 1926, is to weld the edges of the slots to the supporting plate inserted therein but this at best -only permits a limited iillet or rim weld to be made. 'A Af It is a primary object of this invention to get away from the customary practice of cutting slots in the casing and avoid all weakening of the column thereby entailed. The invention contemplates the shaping of the casing in such manner that not only will all its material and its-inherent strength be retained but it will actually be made strongerV andy more rigid because of the shaping. It is a feature of this shaping that itenables a supportingplate,v such as a bracket or tie plate, to be strongly welded to the outer surface of the casingl andyet` have a bearing vertically over the l material in the wall thereof.

The best mode in which I have contemplated applying the principles of my invention is disclosed in the accompanying drawing, but this is to be taken as merely illustrative because it is intended that the patent shall cover by suitable expression in the appended claims What features of patentable novelty exist in the invention as a Whole.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective showing a section 5 of casing and the anvil lused; in the shaping operation;

Figure 2 is a similar view showing, in addition, how a shaping tool coacts with the anvil to effect the desired shaping of the casing;

Figure 3 is a similar View showing it may be finally shaped;

Figure 4 is a vertical section through a casing showing how supporting plates may be positioned and welded thereto;

FigureV 5 is a horizontal section as on line 5-5 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a horizontal section as on line 6`6 of Figure 4; and

Figure 7 is a perspective of a built-up column constructed in accordance with the present invention. s Referring more particularly to the drawing, a casing I made from steel pipe is shaped to pro'- vide one or more` longitudinal depressions; 2 in its outerl surface. A convenient methodY of doing this is shown in Figures 1 and 2. The pipe may be worked cold but it is preferred to heat it in the region where the depression is to be formed. Within the pipe is placed an anvil 3 which has one or more longitudinaldepressions 4 in its surface. One such depression willbe positioned inside the pipe lwhere the depression in the latter is to be formed and then a shaping tool 5 is placed against the outsideface of the pipe and force is applied thereto to swage the pipe wall into the depression of the anvil. The hand tool shown in Figure 2 is to be understood as merely representative as it is obvious that a power tool may be used if desired.

It is preferred to have the depression at least as -deep as the thickness of the casing wall, thus bringing the bottom 2a of the depression within or below where the inner surface of the casing would be if no depression had been made. It is also preferred to have the sides 2b and ends 2c of the depression diverge appreciably and -round, smoothly into the casing surface. This avoids any sharp edges orcornersv and Aprovides a very desirable space for the welding material.

Where an end bracket 6 is toi be applied at the end of the casing an end depression such as is shown at 2 in Figure 4 is formed, and where a side bracket l, or a tie plate 8 is to be applied at some intermediate location on the casing,'inter mediate depressions such as are shown at 2 and 2 are formed. The longitudinal extent of these depressions and their width will of course be controlled by the dimension of the supporting plate to be accommodated.

With the depressions thus formed the supporting plates are positioned in them as best seen in the casing as Figures 4, 5 and 6. The vertical edge Ba of the end bracket 6 is placed in the end depression 2', with its lower edge 6b resting on the curved end 2c of the depression. Similarly the vertical edge la of the web of a side bracket 'l and the vertical edge 8a of a tie plate 8 are placed in the intermediate depressions 2 and 2 respectively, with the lower edge 1b of the web and the lower edge 8b of the tie plate resting on the curved ends 2"c and 2"c of their respective depressions. Thus the inner end of a supporting plate, resting as it does upon the lower curved end of a depression, is directly over the wall of the pipe and consequently the vertical load imposed by the plate is primarily imposed vertically on the wall of the casing.

As previously stated the sides (Zb, see Figure 5, and 2"'b, see Figure 6) of the depression preferably diverge outward to provide an appreciable space between them and the side faces (6c and 8c) of t e supporting plate. This enables a strong weld to be made between the surface of the pipe and he supporting plate because welding material an be deposited in the V-shaped space between the adjacent sides of the depression and the plate, in addition to the usual fillet effect asv when a plate is welded to the edges of a slot. Similarly at the bottom ends 2c and 2c of the bracket depressions 2 and 2" and at both ends 2c 0f the tie plate depression, the V-shaped spaces between the curved ends of the depressions and the edges of the respective supporting plates can be filled with the welding material. Ordinarily the supporting plates will be attached when the column is lying horizontal with the depression open upward in which position the molten Welding material is readily deposited in the aforesaid spaces between the diverging sides and ends of the depression and the supporting plate.

A top or crown plate 9 and a bottom or base plate l may be placed on the ends of the casing and on; or more end brackets 5 and rim-welded thereto as is customary. A horizontal plate Il may likewise be attached to the side bracket 1 or to the tie plate 8. If this is done the welding material is preferably omitted at the upper end of the depression, but if a beam or girder is to be fastened directly to the sides of the tie plate, then the upper end of the depression (as shown at 20, Fig. 4) is welded as previously described.

It is to be noted' that in shaping the casing in accordance with this invention no part of the material of the pipe is cut away as has been the practice in making columns with slots therein. On the contrary all the material of the pipe is retained and because it is shaped to form a de pression the portion of the pipe so shaped is stronger and more rigid than before, because of the corrugated-like effect. From this it follows that if the load tends to tilt the supporting plate and one end or the other of the vertical edge of the plate is urged inward the pipe wall itself, in addition to the concrete filling I2, is able to resist the force thus applied and the danger of buckling is negligible. Because of the V-shaped spaces provided between the sides and ends of the depression and the faces of the supporting plate, the welding material can be applied in ample amount to avoid any tearing away of the plate from the casing. And since the vertical load imposed by the supporting plate is applied over and in alignment with the wall of the casing, there is no likelihood of the plate slipping downward. Obviously there can be no spreading apart of any sections of the casing because the present invention entirely avoids the formations of any slots or separated sections. Thus not only is the pipe or casing itself made stronger by the formation of the depression but the latter also aids in attaining a better Welding bond between the attached parts.

I claim:

1. The method of making a built-up vertical column which comprises forming in the outer surface thereof a vertical depression with its bottom end merging into the said surface, and positioning the edge of a vertical supporting plate in said depression with its lower end resting on the bottom end of the depression.

2. The method of making a built-up vertical column which comprises forming in the outer surface thereof a vertical depression with its bottom end merging into the said surface, positioning the edge of a vertical supporting plate in said depression with its lower end resting on the bottom end of the depression and Welding said plate and column together along the vertical sides of the depression.

3. The method of making a built-up vertical column which comprises forming in the outer surface thereof a vertical depression with diverging sides and with its bottom end curving into the said surface, positioning the edge of a vertical supporting plate in the depression with its bottom end resting on the curved bottom end of the depression, and welding the plate and column together within the spaces formed between the said diverging sides and the plate.

4. A built-up vertical column comprising a casing having in its outer surface a vertical depression with end merging into the said surface, and a vertical supporting plate with its vertical edge inserted in said depression and with the lower end of said edge resting on the said end of the depression.

5. A built-up vertical column comprising a casing having in its outer surface a vertical depression with diverging sides and a bottom end that curves into the said surface, a vertical supporting plate with its vertical edge inserted in the said depression and with the lower end of said edge resting on the curved bottom of the depression, and welding material filling the spaces between the said diverging sides and the adjacent faces of the plate.

GEORGE H. DEAN. 

